There really aren’t many rules for these, because it changes based on who you’re swapping a book with and the when and where said swap it occurring. But if you get the rules right with the right people, you just might walk away with a new favorite read. If you are interested in scaling your book swapping and/or book exchanging, here are a few things to consider.
How does a book exchange work?
Go Out With a Group of Friends
Like I said, there are a few ways to initiate a book swap. The very first one I attended was a brunch arranged by a group of local Bookstagrammers. It went like this: show up to brunch with however many books you would like to unload off of your bookshelves and place them in the middle of the table. Now I will say that there were over 20 of us, so our kind waiter had to bring some extra chairs for our impromptu library. A hat with numbers was then passed around, and your number dictated when you could make a selection. The general rule was that you could only pick as many books as you have brought. I will say that there were a few folks who brought dozens of books, so at the end, we were allowed to take our pick of the leftovers, and whatever wasn’t picked up was donated to a local library.
Go Online
I have also participated in an online book swap, in which a friend provided an address of a mutual acquaintance who I was to send a book to. In return, I would receive a book from another mutual acquaintance. I honestly wasn’t sure how things were divvied up, but while I certainly sent my book to the person in question, I never received one in return. If you’re hosting a virtual swap or one in which everyone is living in different states or countries, I strongly recommend having a point person holding people accountable. Having a set budget for books and shipping is also advisable. In these cases, I do not recommend swapping books with strangers, as it can quickly turn into a pyramid scheme of sorts. Only do an online swap with folks you know will be true to their word
Host a Book Party
Something I have been wanting to do since moving into a larger apartment is to host a book swap with close friends, sort of like a secret Santa, and basically have a bookish party. I have also seen larger organizations such as schools and churches put together large-scale book swaps in which donations of books are taken and then put together for a day-long event. Some places even include branded book plates so participants can see who had the book before.
How to Start a Book Exchange
Here are a few things to consider before arranging a book swap: You can also check out how to do a holiday book exchange and learn a little more about using Little Free Libraries.
